In its second such agreement this week, Microsoft has struck a deal under which it will extend amnesty to a company that's using what the software maker claims is patented Microsoft intellectual property embedded in the open source Linux computer operating system. Under a deal with LG Electronics, disclosed late Wednesday, Microsoft will forgo any Linux-related patent claims against the South Korean electronics manufacturer. In return, Microsoft will gain access to certain intellectual property produced by LG.

Microsoft has stated its position on Linux rather loudly over the last few months starting with the Novell deal. The more Microsoft enters into agreements with distros and companies who use Linux, the stronger their hand is going to become when the day of reckoning arrives.

Sometime soon, someone will have to challenge the legal aspects of these agreements. Not so much whether Microsoft has the right to enter into an agreement as any two companies may do that. What I have reference to is entering into patent agreements without showing or proving that there are really patents that have been infringed.

It would be a real shame if after all is said and done the patent agreements turn out to be unnecessary due to the patents being "obvious" or prior art invalidating the whole lot of them.

But until someone challenges Microsoft over this, they will continue to seek and make agreements. And the more they make, the deeper their hands get into the Linux machine...and it just gets worse for Linux.

Here's a thought: perhaps Microsoft is building Linux alliances so that if the Linux community becomes fragmented Microsoft already has its partners in place to guarantee their piece of the Linux pie.